Itâs important to study the map and choose a route carefully. Avoid any suggestion of cafes and pubs. There is a good reason why Snowdon is Britainâs busiest mountain walk: you can get a coffee at the top (it also has a railway, which takes a lot of the strain out of the actual walking element, too). Also to be avoided are routes passing near campsites and caravan parks, plus anywhere with that blood-sucking shadow, an Instagram presence. Bad weather, of course, is a great deterrent.
Britain has hundreds of named long-distance footpaths, of which only a handful are well known (the Long Distance Walkers Association lists more than 900 on its website). Many have been largely forgotten since the day they were opened. Others attract few hikers. Here is a selection of great footpaths, some short and some very long indeed â you might well extract a dayâs ramble from these, or a weekend. On some you will be unfortunate to see another person all day; others are busier, b